I've been down that road of buying expensive guitars and then changing the pickups for even more expensive pickups and I have regretted it as well. I have the PRS SE and I just love that thing. It's true though that sometimes I find myself searching for a different type of sound so I'll just grab my Les Paul or my Strat or one of my other guitars. I know it cost a little bit more money but it's easier to grab a different sounding guitar Off the Wall than it is to keep on changing pickups. I've also noticed that my mood will have a lot to do with how I hear each guitar when I'm playing it. It's happened where I fell out of love for a guitar and didn't play it for weeks and then grab it all the sudden one day and it just blows me away again. Something else was up when it sounded bad.... Life stories.....
CCR I think what happens is that each guitar or amp has its own set of overtones, odd/even harmonics, all kinds of clatter besides the fundamental chord or note. So, after awhile you may get sick of a certain guitar's noted personality. Changing the pickups is only mainly successful if you have a pretty cheap guitar( less than $400,$300) and you research things very thoroughly and know what sound you're looking for. Don't mess with PRS guitars unless you're a serious pro, those pups are ABSOLUTELY meant for that particular model. Back to before, as good as some coil-split humbuckers are these days, it's still not a Strat, the scale lengths are different, Strats are bolt on, etc. A possible suggestion( oh the horror) is to get a good modeling amp, some of the higher gain sounds can make a plain Strat with some tweaks sound like a Les Paul, a bit. Sorry, I've seen many mediocre players plug a American STD Strat into a Deluxe Reverb, and all the tubes and finely crafted fretboards did not produce the intended magic.
That's my excuse or buying more guitars haha, every guitar I have has a different feel and vibe or emotion that it gives off. I could be handed the same guitar, same pickups, but different body/headstock/weight I'd end up playing it differently 🤷♀️
I totally appreciate what youre saying but in the case of the SE man do they come alive with quality pickups. Its not even so much that its to chase some other tone, but good pickups and it then steps the guitar up to sound closer on par with the american made prs's. ive heard a couple se's just really come to life with the right pickup set. makes them go toe to toe with guitars twice and three times their price and just sound amazing
Give John Mayor any guitar through any amp and he sounds like John Mayor. Look on TH-cam and see him sit in with bands and borrows a guitar. It his tone. Funny that old crappy made guitars are sought after and command high prices. The manufacturers had inconsistent processes and materials. So players often search for a good guitar. But those idiosyncrasies made them unique and added to that players "personal tone"...if he like it. But, many great do not have a choice for economic reason. Our guitar heroes most often took the guitar they had and learned to play and perfect their skills. They tinkered with it if they could or if they had real strong reason to. Most likely failed electronics or perhaps they played some else guitar and wanted that same sound. But the changed had purpose. Thing is the consistency back the day just was not there. Today we are spoiled and spend time watching these video reviews and talking about guitar instead of playing and practicing and finding your "personal tone". Remember "its in your fingers".
2 things I did with 85/15s pickups - cost: $0. 1. lowered them almost to the mounting rings. 2. dialed all tone controls on my amp down about 20% and use the volume and tone on the guitar to tailor to songs. They sound more vintage, sweeter and rounder now, not as harsh and crispy. UPDATE: Rotated both pups still attached in their mounting rings 180*. Simply unscrew the 4 screws per ring, flip them around and put back in. I did have to pull the extra lead wire from the switch cavity to reach. Now the single coil bridge sounds a lot better. It's actually useable and has more body like a good Strat pickup, and the middle position tapped is more like a Strat in the 2 or 4 position. Also raising pole pieces on the wound strings helped even tone with the unwound. In the end, what amp, effects, settings etc. you're playing through will have more affect on tone than which pickups are in a guitar.
I didn’t do the flip and have zero issues. I usually flip my neck buckers on all my LPs anyway. Everyone panics and HAS TO CHANGE THE PICKUPS. Edit* On the flip side, when in single coil mode, I use my King of Tone (clean boost). It really gives a nice spank bump.
Michael U yep lol ..bet you lollar...antiquities..Gibson 57’s ..Bareknuckle.. with this price range just as good.Thanks Brian Wampler marketing BS at best ;)
I was so on the fence between this, and a new Players series Strat for a backup to my USA Fender. I'm glad I went w the Strat after seeing him say he didnt care for it much a year after his initial video.
I installed two Lollar P90 for humbucker on my 86 Custom 24 and replaced the 5-way pot with a tone control and sweet switch with a pickup selector. I love it, sweetest vintage sound ever
Let's try a LITTLE distortion with it. Wow, understatement of the day. The coil split is considerably more effective to my ear. I did like the original sound but the new pups are nice nice nice.
Very good demo....and you can tell the difference. Much fuller sound with the VS pickups. They just have a great tone! Major improvement to the guitar which is a great instrument.
I am thinking of getting Duncan 59's for my PRS S2. Can you still split the coil to single with your 59's? If so, is there much of a volume drop? Thanks!
Man, I've got this exact guitar and have never been happy with the sound, but I figured it was just me because I kept hearing from others that the pickups were actually great. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought they were bad-when someone with ears like Brian Wampler says they're muddy, well that just confirms my opinion. I’m definitely swapping them out.
I buy a guitar for, 1. The way it feels/plays 2. The way it looks 3. Heavy or light 4. How many parts have to be replaced to make it awesome. The PRS usually only needs one Mod...pickups. So with a sub 1k guitar add $245 tax and shipping for Vaughn Skow PRS Humbuckers and you have one helluva guitar that will rival any custom shop guitar from fender or gibson. I have several custom shop guitars and this mod to the PRS has elevated it to a custom level. Thanks for the intro to these pickups Brian. I think Paul and Vaughn need to strike a deal cuz the PRS oem pups are a disappointment.
I put a set of DiMarzio PAF Masters in my old SE Singlecut. HUGE difference, one of my favorite guitars now. Sat down to play it yesterday, looked up and 2 hours had gone by.
I just went ahead and installed actual PRS pickups on it (85/15 bridge and 59/09 neck) and I love the sound. Not sure if worth it for the price, though.
Thanks Mr. Wampler for sharing that info. I've pulled trigger on those pups, and my SE now sings like a true lady :) Pricy... yes, but still the best money spent on pickups like... ever :)) Pure mojo. Special regards to Vaughn: you rock!
I guess the difference I heard was increased clarity and a bit more sparkle and less boomy bottom end. Choosing replacement pick ups is such a difficult exercise. You have to know what you want, find the words to describe it and hope it matches the description provided by the maker or reviewer. I have a standard Strat that I find the neck pickup a bit disappointing but what do I upgrade to? Just the one pickup, full set, Fender or some other boutique brand, if Fender EJs or noiseless or. Or. At 200-300 AUD it can be an expensive exercise then there’s the capacitor type and values - my brain hurts Brian.
I had Suhr Thornbuckers installed in my PRS Custom 24 SE & it completely transformed the guitar! .. Moral of the story, replace the stock pickups & you’ve got a really great guitar.
That's the very first thing you do on a PRS SE. Changing the pickups. I did that on mine too and it improved A LOT. The stock pickups are not just on par with the quality of the guitar.
Thanks for the demo. Now can anyone supply an actual link to "a" web page when I can possibly buy a set? I've Google'ed around and van find the pickup company but not a page indicated a specific pickup model for the PRS SE. Thanks if you can help.
You guys, don't blow your money on that shit. Seymour Duncan and DiMarzio makes what you need just as well and cheaper. Educate yourself properly with their pickup line and you'll be set. Great customer service, also. Remember, the audience will never know the difference between a $300.00 distortion pedal or a $30.00 one, live or recorded. And you'll only fool yourself that there's a difference between great pickups and "special pickup builder" pickups. Yeah, right.
@G. V. Q Remove that orange drop crap and the pickups will sound better; you don't need to buy new pickups, necessarily; try removing the garbage tone controls first. You think they're not on, but they suck the life out of pickups constantly.
Buy them. If you are on the fence for these, i cant recommend them enough. Holy cow. Just had these pups installed today (they came with clear instructions so my friend who is experienced at soldering did it.) and to say that these are an improvement is an understatement. The comparison video does not do it enough justice. I thought I could hear enough of a difference in this Wampler video through my headset, but i was very pleasantly surprised to hear how much more different and improved the pups were irl. I was not expecting that a change of pickups would define my sound more than a change of amps. These pickups have very sweet and warm cleans, and they have a very quacky strat-like feel on the coil split mode. The coil split is amazing. The full humbucker sounds a lil stratty too tbh but it totally rocks. The coil split mode on this absolutely killed my friend's Tele in how much more note clarity and liveliness there was to the tone.
I’ve had an SE Floyd since 2014 and have tried a few pickups in it. Starting with a Pearly Gates set which the neck sounded great but not the bridge pickup with the Floyd. Then I put a a Jason Becker Perpetual Burn in the Bridge. The Floyd seems to make everything sound thin on the SE Floyd. All these pickups sound great in other guitars I own. What I found worked great is a pair of Carvin pickups I had in the late 80,s. An M22SD in the bridge really thickened the tone on the bridge and an M22V in the neck. So far this is what works best for me. Was also thinking DiMarzio Super Distortion and PAF might be a good similar set up....that’s just me though 😎
Hi David I also have the SE Floyd and am considering a pickup upgrade. I did wonder if the pickups that Brian is using would improve mine, but from what you say, it may not the way to go. Any tips on what to look for as replacements?
Martin Smith What I’ve noticed most is the different Floyd’s that are available. While the one on the SE is a pretty high quality copy of the original it just sounds thinner than the original I had around 1984. That said there’s a lot of great pickups depending on what you want. I really think a Dimarzio Super Distortion would work great on the SE Floyd. I just went with the Carvins because I had them sitting around. The M22SD is similar in output with the Di Marzio but has a ceramic magnet versus a alnico 5 in the Carvin. Past experience, the Dimarzio SD always fattens things up😎
The finish on that guitar is beautiful. Dimeola has a white flame top one and Classic white with black striped one Ted Nugent rocked during his time in Damn Yankees. My God. Paul has exceptional talent and taste in finishes
Great video and a MUCH better improvement. I’m considering these pups in my prs se 24 custom after watching this. My only question is WHY didn’t you go through the Soldano?? Prs and Soldano are absolutely made for each other.
Jake Chan I did the pups, tuners and bridge on my first SE semi-hollow and it’s pretty cool for what it is... it was an early electronics project of mine, I put P-rails in along with a bunch of switches for series/parallel humbucker settings, p-90 and hot rail pickup selection and other doodads that I would forgo in future mods but I still enjoy using nonetheless. I spent as much on my second SE semi-hollow, which has nicer hardware from the factory, it came with locking tuners and a bigsby tailpiece which is pretty neat. They both play well and project enough to practice unplugged if need be. I like them both about the same, they’re pretty good guitars and I have paid a total of $750 each for them used in good condition in their current state. Including some nice leather straps.
Completely agree, base SE’s feel great. Replace the stock pickups and they’re killer! However the Mark Holcomb is the best stock guitar under a grand I’ve played.
Well first I agree with this completely. Note that it does not have PRS pickups. The seymour Duncan Alpha Omega set are what it comes with. I bought it after playing it for 5 minutes. The guitar is so versatile. It is not just a metal guitar. Heck I play blues rock and garage rock and even in that genre is one of my best sounding guitars.
I gave my daughter my 08 PRS Custom 22 w zebra humbucker. I want to change them. The guitar plays like a high end guitar. $300 mint no case from GC 4 yrs ago. Love your content! Thanks!
Those new pickups sound way better! I have a PRS SE Bernie Marsden but bought it used with seymour duncan 59s already installed. Switched the humbuckers for some P90/P94 style single coils and it sounds great. These guitars are built really well, just needs most of the electronics replaced if you really want to love it for a long time.
I’m cheap. So, to start, I put good Pots and switch in my SE 24 Standard. Now I’m an old school PRS fan, so the switch I used was the Megaswitch P. Start position 1, Bridge hum, 2 outer coils parallel, 3 inner coils series, 4 inner coils parallel, 5 neck hum. Now to make the pickups make me feel warm and fuzzy, I put 1.1meg resistor between output and ground lowering the volume pot resistance shaving the high treble off, I played with different resistors till I obtained the sound I was looking for. Next, to address volume drop in coil tap positions, I put a 1.1k resistor on the neck coil tap and a 2.2k resistor on bridge coil tap. So far I’m liking the sound of the 85/15 “S” pickups much better. Gone the top end shrill, more smooth midrange punches through. will keep updated. Now I have a guitar I can use at small gigs, this my Tumus Deluxe, JHS Haunting mids, TC flashback in an old Boss BCB-30 my Blues Jr. A mike if the band is loud, and I’m only making one trip to the car.
+1 for the detailed comment, thanks! Changing the resistive load on the pickups ( by shunting the volume control with a larger value resistance as above) seems to be a huge secret but it shouldn't be. No aftermarket pickup manufacturer is going to tell you how much you can tailor the sound by doing this because their financial best interest lies in selling you different pickups, pots, caps, wiring, etc. to change your guitar's sound if it's too bright or harsh in the 3 KHz neighborhood with volume and tone full-up. That being said, I do admire good engineering and craftsmanship and I'm sure that if you spring the $$$ for a complete or near complete solution (custom pickups, caps, wiring, maybe pots, etc.) they will work well together. But a good local tech can hook you up with the resistive loading change for far less $$$ if you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself. Also, the 1.1K/2.2K resistors on the pickup coil taps are the values PRS uses and these resistors are present on the PRS S2 instruments but not on the SE versions. It's extremely easy to add those to your SE and the pictorial schematics are on the PRS website. This is a super cheap improvement in the split coil SE tones from the 85/15 "S" pickups which are used on both the SE line and the S2 line. Do both of these mods on your SE, set your pickup heights correctly, and you should be amazingly close to S2 or even Core tone quality. Or just very happy with the sound with your rig and not even care if it's close to a PRS S2/Core or not.
Bought a Billy Martin SE last year great guitar nice and already "worn in " haha ( dents and scratches) off Ebay ...glad to have found this video as it did definately explain a few things thank you
Those appear to be the clear tone/volume knobs from a core or a CE model yes? I assume you had no trouble putting on the SE ? On Sweetwater, the description of the knobs say "for USA Core models only. they seemed to work on your SE just fine. I am asking as I have a SE and want the clear knobs on my guitar.
In those pickups you are experiencing the difference in machine vs scatter wound. I used to swap pickups, but found you can swap the control electronics instead to get the same results. Put your old pickups back in and replace the tone cap with the next lower uF, test, replace the volume pot with a high end of the tolerance spec, test, put that cap you pulled in series with the muddy pickup hot lead, test. If still feeling nothing for them then go back to the swapped pickups -- I often find a 0.033uF cap is all these SEs need. Of course, you can always lower the pickups and raise the screw poles too (neck strat stagger, bridge flat to each other) for a no cost fix. You probably have some fancy capacitance measurement devices in that lab ... measure up both sets of pickups and compare to the kohms. I find some popular brands have twice the capacitance and thus mud of others, when I was swapping pickups.
I had the same problem with my S2 Standard 22. It had the SE#7 pups which just didn’t quite do it for me. I swapped in a set of Duncan JB and Jazz in the bridge and neck and the thing wails now! 🤘🏼
Tim Guntz I have the same guitar being played in this video and my only distaste a bit are the stock pickups. Did you find the stock neck pickup to hot and not great for clean playing and was the bridge to bright/treble-ish? And if so did the Duncan JB and Jazz help out with this? As soon as I seen your comment I had to ask since these are the same pickups I’m considering. Thanks you
Pickups can be designed to sound good in a particular guitar, they may or may not sound good in another kind of guitar. I think that's what he is saying. The pickups are tailored to the PRS SE.
@@ggman946 I am sure the fret choice is what Bernie likes .but to be honest the fret height is a little low to me on most PRS guitars .I slip off some of my bends on bernie.lol
What is this guitar? It looks fantastic! I tend to prefer quilted maple over flame. I have rarely seen them on SE models, except for the flame maple neck edition. The Trampas green one I tried unfortunately had a lackluster top, but that one is stunning and also has the matching headstock? That is just awesome.
Hi brain, have you tried the dimarzio paf 59s yet. I think they're probably the ideal pickups for you. I'd also like to hear them through the wampler amp and that heaven in pedal form (wampler velvet fuzz)... Just an idea. 👍
Sounds much better. I love the look of PRS and want to love them so much but I’ve had 2 custom 22s and just couldn’t bond with either of them for some reason. Didn’t bond with the 2 channel PRE stack I had either. I don’t know, just not the same as my fenders or gibsons.
Hate to burst any bubbles but had you Just changed the capacitor to the .022 on the stock pickups you would heard the muddy you described go away also. Really wakes up those stock pups on the Custom 24 SE.
In my opinion here's step 1: new nut/cut nut slots properly. This is crucial. For some reason almost every SE I've played has had the nut slots cut improperly
sonsauvage,,i agree with you,,,the very 1st thing to do on any SE is to change out the nut,, i have a 2018 prs santana SE and i'm ok with the santana s pickups i just had to adjust the heighth and dial in my amp,,,but the stock nut sucks big time,,i still favor my les paul but the prs santana still gets alot of play time
The video isn't clear enough to show but se stocks are sucks I mean yeah you can use it for a while but they re not good it's like watching a video on 360p
Hi!!..I m a big fan of PRS..(I just got the MT15 head..its fantastic!)..but always found the pickups (SE and Core) too bright for me...Not liking coil split/tap at all..I replaced the stock pickups in my first edition Bernie Marsden SE with Irongear pickups...a LOT smoother/warmer and defined. Those Vaughns sound amazing though..are they US only? (Im in England).
Recently acquired a PRS 245 SE. The pickups and my Blues Jr. just didn't get along -- not to my ear, anyway. Returned the SE and bought a D'Angelico Premier DC Mini. All happy.
Ahhh!!!! When I read the title of the video, I was hoping the change would include upgrading the pickup selector switch to a 5-way, like many of the more expensive PRS models. This way you can get a couple of Strat/Tele like sounds including both inner coils and both outer coils in parallel.
The link goes to a blank page. A price point would have been nice, but judging his other pickups they are probably close to half the price of the guitar. A few minutes with the tone controls on the amp and you might have found the sound you were looking for but what fun is that?
Al good to know, I’m replacing mine with a pearly gates and a ‘59 neck and selling it to a friend of mine. Couldn’t let him buy it with the stock pickups lol
What were the output of the stock PRS and the output on the V Skow pickups? There is a lot more clarity and I am guessing that the Skow pickups are lower output to possibly match the Seth Lover pickups.
Just swapped out the Korean Floyd Rose on the SE Custom 24 with the original Schaller-made Floyd I had sitting in a box A few modifications were required (no routing) Deeper low end More sustain Better string definition
@@CrazedFandango Yes, it's stock. You may be able to get away with just switching out the block. That's where the weakness is IMHO. There is a replacement called the Stone Tone (I think) that's cut granite, which has a resonant frequency far beyond that zinc block in the Special, and it has more mass. It needs to be grounded at the bridge somewhere, because it won't conduct through the block. If you decide to go with the Schaller-made Floyd, be aware - the Special's block is shallow - I couldn't put the back plate on afterward. A minor concession for me, but it might bother other players.
Brian add one of those tiny variable resistors to the ground out of the coil split switch. Dial in how thick you want your split tone by leaving some of the grounded coil slightly alive. To me its the coolest way to " split" coils
SMSuperstrat - I have a Strat with a tapped Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound (single coil). Didn’t like the fully tapped sound but now the second tone knob is a variable tap control. Lots of fun.
SMSuperstrat - I was talking about a high powered single coil with a tap, but there’s no reason you couldn’t do the same thing with a variable split on a humbucker. Lindy Fralin’s “Unbucker” has deliberately mismatched coils specifically for a better split sound.
That’s a nice quilt veneer. Nice to see an SE looking that good. Though, of course, it’s the sound that matters. I’ve always liked the looks of “zebra” pickups too.
It's interesting you say that. I have a 2019 SE Custom 24 and it sounds nothing like the stock one at all! It's super bright! I did get it used but barely so, and I'm pretty sure the store would have said if the previous owner put different pups in.
I have that same guitar, hated the pickups. I put in Seymour Duncan's. It sounded much better ,but after I changed the nut that guitar really came to life.
@@patricksommer3971 Looks like there is a Custom 60 PAF and a Custom 65 in the Vaughn's Custom HSS Strat set. Should I assume that it's the entire 'Custom 60 set and not a set in whole or in part that includes the humbucker from Custom 65 from the HSS set? Or was it a custom set for Brian Wampler? 0:30 just says Custom PAF on the label.
I bought and sold 2 PRS guitars with 85/15 S pickups. The tone knob had to be set at 2-3 to be useable but still the sound was too unbalanced. The low E is so bassy it’s almost inaudible while the G, B and E are super bright, which makes single note melody work difficult. These pups worked well for classic rock chords but didn’t work for me otherwise.
Mine is the same. The tone knob might as well be an on/off switch, muddy at 0 and maxes out brightness at 2 or 3. To balance the heavy low end I adjust it down at the amp. I wonder about changing the heights of the pickups though.
Great. Now just explain to me how to get my SE to stay in tune. If you even touch the tremolo it falls out. After playing it for about 15 min with intermittent retunes it eventually settles in and will keep tune until the next time I pick it up to play. I've thought about putting a bridge block but still on the fence.
you need to widen your nut slots, your trem tugs and gives on the strings as designed but your nut is not letting the strings return to their original position. Here's a test to confirm: Do your notes fall sharp when tugging up on the trem bar and then go flat when you do bends or dive bombs on your trem? Nut problem.
I was expecting more. The VS pups are definitely a higher output with a deeper, rounder sound, but I think the biggest issue you're having is your amp tone is weak. It's not a great clean or dirty tone. It's fine. And the VS pickups are definitely better under this amp tone... but... I would like to see more out of both pups under different conditions. I own that same guitar, and the thing I would change first before the pups is the tuners. Haha I'm also running a Helix with tones that support any pickup type. Hahaha
@@michaelduff2382 To be completely honest... I'm laughing because you can build amazing tones with the Helix that any set of pups will sound good under, and also, I would never use a Marshall. I have owned several and hated all of them. I wouldn't even emulate any Marshall with a Helix, AxeFx, or otherwise. I was laughing at my own bias. In other words, "This review is poor because this guitar actually sound awesome stock, but it sounds like shit because this Marshall amp blows. The amp is the problem, not the guitar. Hahaha"
@@Noshimonoriku well as much as I disagree with your manners, I kind of agree with you because I own the headrush and my prs SE sounds great through it
@@michaelduff2382 Manners? Wtf? Haha My first comment was very polite and even put the "hahaha"'s in there to show that I was being light hearted and "playful" and tried to make sure my comment wasn't taken as me talking shit to just be a hateful troll. My second comment was considerably more blunt and honest. Hence... "To be completely honest." And yet, I made it clear to not not take my comment too seriously because 1) I admitted to being biased and 2) more hahaha's. As for Internet rhetoric, I am applying a considerable amount playfulness to not being taken seriously while also being honest, and obviously not to be taken too seriously, when I could just say... "This review sucks. This guitar is awesome. You're an idiot that doesn't not how to create tones even though you made an entire series called, "Chasing Tone." Get off the internet you fucking idiot." But... I didn't say that did I? Hahaha Because, that's fucking douchey and, rude. And to be honest, again, I don't feel that way at all. I've watched a lot of this dude's videos and there's lots of good information, but it's obvious this is just for content. Something to put out. And by the video he put out today, it's obvious that his heart just isn't into videos right now. So... yeah... Thanks for the half convo about Tone Modeling, and fuck your manners. HAHAHA
When I coil tap my SE custom 24, I turn the volume and tone to about 40 or 50% makes a huge difference. Also my SE sounds great with jazz 12s and tuned down to B or C#. I keep it that way mostly now
@@kevinr.3542 Yes a complete set up was required. Had to adjust the heights of the saddles and tighten up the trem springs. Also had to file the nut slots. All in all I think it was worth it. I have since restored it to take 10s
@@companionofowls5438 nice, I bet it sounds good. I may want to put thicker strings on mine but I just bought it with a great setup and everything is pretty balanced and perfect, I don't want to screw it up too bad. But I can handle all those things you mentioned. Have you left your trem alone? I blocked mine after lots of tuning instability issues. Wondered if you experienced any yourself? I couldn't use my bar without throwing it out of tune
@@kevinr.3542 I never had tuning issues, but I also put locking tuners and a graphtec nut on mine. if you want your trem back, try making those modest updrages. Also the PRS spec for it's trem is to set it parallel to the body, so I made sure to follow factory specs. I absolutely LOVE the trem and never ever ever want to block it off. Just my preference
@@companionofowls5438 that really confirms what I was thinking, that I should replace the nut. A lot of people have issues with it binding. Glad to hear you like the tremolo. Overall I love it too I was just having those issues using the bar . I'd love to use it and have it stay perfectly in tune.
The playability of the se's is awesome! My 2016 model sounds nice over a fender superchamp......but swapping those pups is on my bucket list.....but expensive ones like that...its not making much sense to me tbh. If they would come with Seymour Duncan's.....killer.
@@MaddoxMelton Yes, I wondered if that's what they were as I have those on my PS2 and frankly I like their tone and am not inclined to want to replace them. I especially like their coil split sound which is not wimpy and weak like on most humbucking guitars.
So they should be "nearly identical" to the PRS 8515's found on the +$2,000 guitars. Same specs (I agree). And I have some Duncan Design pickups (same kind of thing) that I am also happy with for the same reason.
Interesting video, anyway, the bridge pick-up, after the swap, seemed the previous one with the flu (the nose closed) 🙂 Anyway, the fingerboard pick-up seems warmer in tone. I don't think I'm going to swap mine, even if soldering for me it's not a problem. Thank you for sharing.
I put some bareknuckle Holy divers in my Bernie marsden SE and it went to a different level. Nothing wrong with the 245s...just knew the BKs would be better
Wow! Huge difference! I have the same guitar and I’ve been shopping around for replacement pickups for a few months now trying to decide what to get...🤔
@@ashthegreat1 love my strandberg and my suhr with the stock ssv/ssh /ssh+ And i have only heard good things about the thornbuckers and the aldrichs. Got friedmans "burstbuckers" for my esp lp model a dream as well, as i said, you can't go wrong with suhr or friedman
0:40 Stock bridge clean
0:47 neck clean
0:57 coil-tap neck
1:03 coil-tap bridge
1:14 distortion bridge
1:25 distortion neck
1:34 coil-tap distortion
2:55 VK bridge clean
3:08 coil-tap bridge clean
3:27 neck clean
3:43 coil-tap neck clean
3:53 distortion bridge
4:13 distortion neck
MVP
I put these in my SE and it makes a world of difference. Such a great guitar made even better. I added the PRS locking tuners as well.
So did the vc pickups give you more tone or clarity? Does it handle metal well?
If you didn't know that was an SE you could be mistaken for thinking it was a 10 top. That quilted maple veneer is a thing of beauty
I've been down that road of buying expensive guitars and then changing the pickups for even more expensive pickups and I have regretted it as well.
I have the PRS SE and I just love that thing. It's true though that sometimes I find myself searching for a different type of sound so I'll just grab my Les Paul or my Strat or one of my other guitars. I know it cost a little bit more money but it's easier to grab a different sounding guitar Off the Wall than it is to keep on changing pickups.
I've also noticed that my mood will have a lot to do with how I hear each guitar when I'm playing it.
It's happened where I fell out of love for a guitar and didn't play it for weeks and then grab it all the sudden one day and it just blows me away again.
Something else was up when it sounded bad....
Life stories.....
CCR I think what happens is that each guitar or amp has its own set of overtones, odd/even harmonics, all kinds of clatter besides the fundamental chord or note. So, after awhile you may get sick of a certain guitar's noted personality. Changing the pickups is only mainly successful if you have a pretty cheap guitar( less than $400,$300) and you research things very thoroughly and know what sound you're looking
for. Don't mess with PRS guitars unless you're a serious pro, those pups are ABSOLUTELY meant for that particular model. Back to before, as good as some coil-split humbuckers are these days, it's still not a Strat, the scale lengths are different, Strats are bolt on, etc. A possible suggestion( oh the horror) is to get a good modeling amp, some of the higher gain sounds can make a plain Strat with some tweaks sound like a Les Paul, a bit. Sorry, I've seen many mediocre players plug a American STD Strat into a Deluxe Reverb, and all the tubes and finely crafted fretboards did not produce the intended magic.
That's my excuse or buying more guitars haha, every guitar I have has a different feel and vibe or emotion that it gives off. I could be handed the same guitar, same pickups, but different body/headstock/weight I'd end up playing it differently 🤷♀️
I totally appreciate what youre saying but in the case of the SE man do they come alive with quality pickups. Its not even so much that its to chase some other tone, but good pickups and it then steps the guitar up to sound closer on par with the american made prs's. ive heard a couple se's just really come to life with the right pickup set. makes them go toe to toe with guitars twice and three times their price and just sound amazing
Give John Mayor any guitar through any amp and he sounds like John Mayor. Look on TH-cam and see him sit in with bands and borrows a guitar. It his tone.
Funny that old crappy made guitars are sought after and command high prices. The manufacturers had inconsistent processes and materials. So players often search for a good guitar. But those idiosyncrasies made them unique and added to that players "personal tone"...if he like it. But, many great do not have a choice for economic reason. Our guitar heroes most often took the guitar they had and learned to play and perfect their skills. They tinkered with it if they could or if they had real strong reason to. Most likely failed electronics or perhaps they played some else guitar and wanted that same sound. But the changed had purpose. Thing is the consistency back the day just was not there.
Today we are spoiled and spend time watching these video reviews and talking about guitar instead of playing and practicing and finding your "personal tone". Remember "its in your fingers".
2 things I did with 85/15s pickups - cost: $0. 1. lowered them almost to the mounting rings. 2. dialed all tone controls on my amp down about 20% and use the volume and tone on the guitar to tailor to songs. They sound more vintage, sweeter and rounder now, not as harsh and crispy. UPDATE: Rotated both pups still attached in their mounting rings 180*. Simply unscrew the 4 screws per ring, flip them around and put back in. I did have to pull the extra lead wire from the switch cavity to reach. Now the single coil bridge sounds a lot better. It's actually useable and has more body like a good Strat pickup, and the middle position tapped is more like a Strat in the 2 or 4 position. Also raising pole pieces on the wound strings helped even tone with the unwound. In the end, what amp, effects, settings etc. you're playing through will have more affect on tone than which pickups are in a guitar.
I did the same man. Sounds a lot better. Cleaner tone. Seems like when the pick ups are raised they have a mid/hi buzzy tone that I don’t like.
I'm totally going to give this a try with my 58/15S's
I didn’t do the flip and have zero issues. I usually flip my neck buckers on all my LPs anyway. Everyone panics and HAS TO CHANGE THE PICKUPS.
Edit* On the flip side, when in single coil mode, I use my King of Tone (clean boost). It really gives a nice spank bump.
Much better. The dirt tones from the new pups are amazing. Perfect actually.
Massive improvement. I like it. Gorgeous PRS btw!
Great technical information, your channel is one of the better
If you want to use the tremelo to any extent I recommend changing the tuners.
Would have been nice if you had have done an A-B comparison at the end.
Who would make a video on sound and then not put them side by side to actually hear the difference??
Doing this because I think these things sound pretty fantastic
0:39 PRS Bridge Clean
0:46 PRS Neck Clean
0:57 PRS Neck Split Clean
1:02 PRS Bridge Split Clean
1:12 PRS Bridge Dirty
1:24 PRS Neck Dirty
1:32 PRS Bridge Split Dirty
1:37 PRS Neck Split Dirty
2:53 Vaughn Skow Bridge Clean
3:05 Vaughn Skow Bridge Split Clean
3:19 Vaughn Skow Bridge Clean (more)
3:27 Vaughn Skow Neck Clean
3:42 Vaughn Skow Neck Split Clean
3:52 Vaughn Skow Bridge Dirty
4:12 Vaughn Skow Neck Dirty
Not Wireline .Cables that’s for sure!
I bought the Vaughan Skow Pickups they swound fabulous. Worth the money
> Easy way to improve your PRS SE guitar
> $240 pickups
yeah, good one!
lol
Michael U yep lol ..bet you lollar...antiquities..Gibson 57’s ..Bareknuckle.. with this price range just as good.Thanks Brian Wampler marketing BS at best ;)
dunno, someeone must have deleted his post
I was so on the fence between this, and a new Players series Strat for a backup to my USA Fender. I'm glad I went w the Strat after seeing him say he didnt care for it much a year after his initial video.
I installed two Lollar P90 for humbucker on my 86 Custom 24 and replaced the 5-way pot with a tone control and sweet switch with a pickup selector. I love it, sweetest vintage sound ever
Let's try a LITTLE distortion with it. Wow, understatement of the day.
The coil split is considerably more effective to my ear. I did like the original sound but the new pups are nice nice nice.
Very good demo....and you can tell the difference. Much fuller sound with the VS pickups. They just have a great tone! Major improvement to the guitar which is a great instrument.
Sounds nice and twangy now, I know PRS just released their PRS SE locking tuners too.
I changed the original pickups too and now sounds fantastic
I love the look of the matching headstock, especially in Trampas Green.
I have an old SE 245. Put CTS pot, Emerson caps, and SD Pearly Gates. It’s soooo much better. Glad you like the change.
I'v got a duncan 59 installed on the bridge and it sounds killer
I am thinking of getting Duncan 59's for my PRS S2. Can you still split the coil to single with your 59's? If so, is there much of a volume drop? Thanks!
@@briancoyne6700 yes, you have 2 options on the 59, 2 or 4 conductor wire
I have a set of SD 59 sn1 in mine and it sounds killer! Rock or clean or jazz. It delivers!
Man, I've got this exact guitar and have never been happy with the sound, but I figured it was just me because I kept hearing from others that the pickups were actually great. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought they were bad-when someone with ears like Brian Wampler says they're muddy, well that just confirms my opinion. I’m definitely swapping them out.
I always read the same as you!!!they sounded like shit to me!
Can I pay for shipping for them? My epi Les Paul sounds terrible and it has feedback.
I buy a guitar for, 1. The way it feels/plays 2. The way it looks 3. Heavy or light 4. How many parts have to be replaced to make it awesome. The PRS usually only needs one Mod...pickups. So with a sub 1k guitar add $245 tax and shipping for Vaughn Skow PRS Humbuckers and you have one helluva guitar that will rival any custom shop guitar from fender or gibson. I have several custom shop guitars and this mod to the PRS has elevated it to a custom level. Thanks for the intro to these pickups Brian. I think Paul and Vaughn need to strike a deal cuz the PRS oem pups are a disappointment.
Vaughn makes great pickups
I put a set of DiMarzio PAF Masters in my old SE Singlecut. HUGE difference, one of my favorite guitars now. Sat down to play it yesterday, looked up and 2 hours had gone by.
I just went ahead and installed actual PRS pickups on it (85/15 bridge and 59/09 neck) and I love the sound. Not sure if worth it for the price, though.
Thanks Mr. Wampler for sharing that info. I've pulled trigger on those pups, and my SE now sings like a true lady :) Pricy... yes, but still the best money spent on pickups like... ever :)) Pure mojo. Special regards to Vaughn: you rock!
I guess the difference I heard was increased clarity and a bit more sparkle and less boomy bottom end. Choosing replacement pick ups is such a difficult exercise. You have to know what you want, find the words to describe it and hope it matches the description provided by the maker or reviewer. I have a standard Strat that I find the neck pickup a bit disappointing but what do I upgrade to? Just the one pickup, full set, Fender or some other boutique brand, if Fender EJs or noiseless or. Or. At 200-300 AUD it can be an expensive exercise then there’s the capacitor type and values - my brain hurts Brian.
I had Suhr Thornbuckers installed in my PRS Custom 24 SE & it completely transformed the guitar! .. Moral of the story, replace the stock pickups & you’ve got a really great guitar.
Nice to see the humble DSL100H keeping such illustrious company. Makes sense Brian would have one - they’re a terrific pedal platform.
Sheeeeeyit! What a difference!
That's the very first thing you do on a PRS SE. Changing the pickups. I did that on mine too and it improved A LOT. The stock pickups are not just on par with the quality of the guitar.
That's the first thing you should do on any PRS. Change the pickups. They're horrible.
rockzilla5150 SEs and S2s don’t have great pickups but the American made pickups are some of the best out there
@@drdoom8793 'Best' is subjective. I dislike their pickups even on their higher end guitars.
I have a c22, pickups were the worst of any guitar I've ever owned. Replaced them with Dimarzios.
Soldano! Soldano! Soldano!
Thanks for the demo. Now can anyone supply an actual link to "a" web page when I can possibly buy a set? I've Google'ed around and van find the pickup company but not a page indicated a specific pickup model for the PRS SE. Thanks if you can help.
This. I'd also like to know. Thanks!
You guys, don't blow your money on that shit. Seymour Duncan and DiMarzio makes what you need just as well and cheaper. Educate yourself properly with their pickup line and you'll be set. Great customer service, also. Remember, the audience will never know the difference between a $300.00 distortion pedal or a $30.00 one, live or recorded. And you'll only fool yourself that there's a difference between great pickups and "special pickup builder" pickups. Yeah, right.
www.vaughnskow.com/prs-pickups (its in the description)
@G. V. Q Remove that orange drop crap and the pickups will sound better; you don't need to buy new pickups, necessarily; try removing the garbage tone controls first. You think they're not on, but they suck the life out of pickups constantly.
Buy them. If you are on the fence for these, i cant recommend them enough. Holy cow. Just had these pups installed today (they came with clear instructions so my friend who is experienced at soldering did it.) and to say that these are an improvement is an understatement. The comparison video does not do it enough justice. I thought I could hear enough of a difference in this Wampler video through my headset, but i was very pleasantly surprised to hear how much more different and improved the pups were irl. I was not expecting that a change of pickups would define my sound more than a change of amps. These pickups have very sweet and warm cleans, and they have a very quacky strat-like feel on the coil split mode. The coil split is amazing. The full humbucker sounds a lil stratty too tbh but it totally rocks. The coil split mode on this absolutely killed my friend's Tele in how much more note clarity and liveliness there was to the tone.
I didnt try much dirt sounds well cause I just got them today
Great Job! May I ask Brian, Did The SE Originally have 85 /15's in It? Thanks for sharing brother, Be Well!
I’ve had an SE Floyd since 2014 and have tried a few pickups in it. Starting with a Pearly Gates set which the neck sounded great but not the bridge pickup with the Floyd. Then I put a a Jason Becker Perpetual Burn in the Bridge. The Floyd seems to make everything sound thin on the
SE Floyd. All these pickups sound great in other guitars I own. What I found worked great is a pair of Carvin pickups I had in the late 80,s.
An M22SD in the bridge really thickened the tone on the bridge and an M22V in the neck. So far this is what works best for me.
Was also thinking DiMarzio Super Distortion and PAF might be a good similar set up....that’s just me though 😎
Hi David
I also have the SE Floyd and am considering a pickup upgrade. I did wonder if the pickups that Brian is using would improve mine, but from what you say, it may not the way to go.
Any tips on what to look for as replacements?
Suhr Aldrichs for the win!
@David Cole I am curious to know what the PRS \m/ pups sound like in a SE FLOYD. I may do that.
Martin Smith
What I’ve noticed most is the different Floyd’s that are available. While the one on the SE is a pretty high quality copy of the original it just sounds
thinner than the original I had around 1984. That said there’s a lot of great pickups depending on what you want. I really think a Dimarzio Super Distortion would work great on the SE Floyd. I just went with the Carvins because I had them sitting around. The M22SD is similar in output with the Di Marzio but has a ceramic magnet versus a alnico 5 in the Carvin. Past experience, the Dimarzio SD always fattens things up😎
Check that Carvin is alnico 5
Dimarzio ceramic
The finish on that guitar is beautiful. Dimeola has a white flame top one and Classic white with black striped one Ted Nugent rocked during his time in Damn Yankees. My God. Paul has exceptional talent and taste in finishes
Great video and a MUCH better improvement. I’m considering these pups in my prs se 24 custom after watching this. My only question is WHY didn’t you go through the Soldano?? Prs and Soldano are absolutely made for each other.
Beautiful guitar !
Is it a custom 24? What is that finish called????
I have the same issue and was going to replace with the high PRS, liked the Skow too. Which set was the Skow you purchased
Changing the pickups is a good and practical way to improve an SE, but I would choose to change all hardware first.
Jake Chan I did the pups, tuners and bridge on my first SE semi-hollow and it’s pretty cool for what it is... it was an early electronics project of mine, I put P-rails in along with a bunch of switches for series/parallel humbucker settings, p-90 and hot rail pickup selection and other doodads that I would forgo in future mods but I still enjoy using nonetheless. I spent as much on my second SE semi-hollow, which has nicer hardware from the factory, it came with locking tuners and a bigsby tailpiece which is pretty neat. They both play well and project enough to practice unplugged if need be. I like them both about the same, they’re pretty good guitars and I have paid a total of $750 each for them used in good condition in their current state. Including some nice leather straps.
Completely agree, base SE’s feel great. Replace the stock pickups and they’re killer! However the Mark Holcomb is the best stock guitar under a grand I’ve played.
Well first I agree with this completely. Note that it does not have PRS pickups. The seymour Duncan Alpha Omega set are what it comes with. I bought it after playing it for 5 minutes. The guitar is so versatile. It is not just a metal guitar. Heck I play blues rock and garage rock and even in that genre is one of my best sounding guitars.
I gave my daughter my 08 PRS Custom 22 w zebra humbucker. I want to change them. The guitar plays like a high end guitar. $300 mint no case from GC 4 yrs ago. Love your content! Thanks!
Those new pickups sound way better!
I have a PRS SE Bernie Marsden but bought it used with seymour duncan 59s already installed. Switched the humbuckers for some P90/P94 style single coils and it sounds great.
These guitars are built really well, just needs most of the electronics replaced if you really want to love it for a long time.
I’m cheap. So, to start, I put good Pots and switch in my SE 24 Standard. Now I’m an old school PRS fan, so the switch I used was the Megaswitch P. Start position 1, Bridge hum, 2 outer coils parallel, 3 inner coils series, 4 inner coils parallel, 5 neck hum. Now to make the pickups make me feel warm and fuzzy, I put 1.1meg resistor between output and ground lowering the volume pot resistance shaving the high treble off, I played with different resistors till I obtained the sound I was looking for. Next, to address volume drop in coil tap positions, I put a 1.1k resistor on the neck coil tap and a 2.2k resistor on bridge coil tap. So far I’m liking the sound of the 85/15 “S” pickups much better. Gone the top end shrill, more smooth midrange punches through. will keep updated. Now I have a guitar I can use at small gigs, this my Tumus Deluxe, JHS Haunting mids, TC flashback in an old Boss BCB-30 my Blues Jr. A mike if the band is loud, and I’m only making one trip to the car.
+1 for the detailed comment, thanks! Changing the resistive load on the pickups ( by shunting the volume control with a larger value resistance as above) seems to be a huge secret but it shouldn't be. No aftermarket pickup manufacturer is going to tell you how much you can tailor the sound by doing this because their financial best interest lies in selling you different pickups, pots, caps, wiring, etc. to change your guitar's sound if it's too bright or harsh in the 3 KHz neighborhood with volume and tone full-up.
That being said, I do admire good engineering and craftsmanship and I'm sure that if you spring the $$$ for a complete or near complete solution (custom pickups, caps, wiring, maybe pots, etc.) they will work well together. But a good local tech can hook you up with the resistive loading change for far less $$$ if you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself.
Also, the 1.1K/2.2K resistors on the pickup coil taps are the values PRS uses and these resistors are present on the PRS S2 instruments but not on the SE versions. It's extremely easy to add those to your SE and the pictorial schematics are on the PRS website. This is a super cheap improvement in the split coil SE tones from the 85/15 "S" pickups which are used on both the SE line and the S2 line. Do both of these mods on your SE, set your pickup heights correctly, and you should be amazingly close to S2 or even Core tone quality. Or just very happy with the sound with your rig and not even care if it's close to a PRS S2/Core or not.
Bought a Billy Martin SE last year great guitar nice and already "worn in " haha ( dents and scratches) off Ebay ...glad to have found this video as it did definately explain a few things thank you
I have one too and it suffers from the same problem. Thanks Spot On!
Those appear to be the clear tone/volume knobs from a core or a CE model yes? I assume you had no trouble putting on the SE ? On Sweetwater, the description of the knobs say "for USA Core models only. they seemed to work on your SE just fine. I am asking as I have a SE and want the clear knobs on my guitar.
sounds fantastic
Hot damn! That is a difference, nice!
Installed Duncan Alpha Omegas in my limited edition Trampas Green Custom 24.
In those pickups you are experiencing the difference in machine vs scatter wound. I used to swap pickups, but found you can swap the control electronics instead to get the same results. Put your old pickups back in and replace the tone cap with the next lower uF, test, replace the volume pot with a high end of the tolerance spec, test, put that cap you pulled in series with the muddy pickup hot lead, test. If still feeling nothing for them then go back to the swapped pickups -- I often find a 0.033uF cap is all these SEs need. Of course, you can always lower the pickups and raise the screw poles too (neck strat stagger, bridge flat to each other) for a no cost fix. You probably have some fancy capacitance measurement devices in that lab ... measure up both sets of pickups and compare to the kohms. I find some popular brands have twice the capacitance and thus mud of others, when I was swapping pickups.
Vaughn Skow machine-winds his humbuckers. He reserves hand-winding for single coils.
I had the same problem with my S2 Standard 22. It had the SE#7 pups which just didn’t quite do it for me. I swapped in a set of Duncan JB and Jazz in the bridge and neck and the thing wails now! 🤘🏼
Tim Guntz I have the same guitar being played in this video and my only distaste a bit are the stock pickups. Did you find the stock neck pickup to hot and not great for clean playing and was the bridge to bright/treble-ish? And if so did the Duncan JB and Jazz help out with this? As soon as I seen your comment I had to ask since these are the same pickups I’m considering. Thanks you
I installed a custom 5 and pearly gates in my se custom 24 and the difference is night and day. I don't think I'm ever gonna sell that axe!
So, how do you design pickups specific to a certain guitar as a third party manufacturer? Does he want to exclude sales to people with other guitars?
Pickups can be designed to sound good in a particular guitar, they may or may not sound good in another kind of guitar. I think that's what he is saying. The pickups are tailored to the PRS SE.
Nice video 👍.i have an se Bernie Marsden model.its a Nice sounding guitar .the one thing I wish it had was taller frets .lol .
Right. Taller frets. I was just saying that yesteday about my BM
@@ggman946 I am sure the fret choice is what Bernie likes .but to be honest the fret height is a little low to me on most PRS guitars .I slip off some of my bends on bernie.lol
@@wayneharrod9363 the frets are fine on my PRS Starla Core. I got a good deal on the Bernie. I'll learn to live with it.
@@ggman946 I got my Bernie+gig bag and a nice levy strap with strap locks for 425 a few years back .so I can't complain .I use it as my Eb guitar .lol
What is this guitar? It looks fantastic! I tend to prefer quilted maple over flame.
I have rarely seen them on SE models, except for the flame maple neck edition. The Trampas green one I tried unfortunately had a lackluster top, but that one is stunning and also has the matching headstock? That is just awesome.
Nevermind. Sweetwater exclusive, just saw them on their site.
Wondering why you bought it not liking the pickups or the coil tap? Got to admit, sounded a HELL of a lot better after the mods.
Hi brain, have you tried the dimarzio paf 59s yet. I think they're probably the ideal pickups for you. I'd also like to hear them through the wampler amp and that heaven in pedal form (wampler velvet fuzz)... Just an idea. 👍
Sounds much better. I love the look of PRS and want to love them so much but I’ve had 2 custom 22s and just couldn’t bond with either of them for some reason. Didn’t bond with the 2 channel PRE stack I had either. I don’t know, just not the same as my fenders or gibsons.
Hate to burst any bubbles but had you Just changed the capacitor to the .022 on the stock pickups you would heard the muddy you described go away also. Really wakes up those stock pups on the Custom 24 SE.
In my opinion here's step 1: new nut/cut nut slots properly. This is crucial. For some reason almost every SE I've played has had the nut slots cut improperly
sonsauvage,,i agree with you,,,the very 1st thing to do on any SE is to change out the nut,, i have a 2018 prs santana SE and i'm ok with the santana s pickups i just had to adjust the heighth and dial in my amp,,,but the stock nut sucks big time,,i still favor my les paul but the prs santana still gets alot of play time
Sounded the same to me. I'd save my money. .the SE was great stock..
The video isn't clear enough to show but se stocks are sucks I mean yeah you can use it for a while but they re not good it's like watching a video on 360p
Hi!!..I m a big fan of PRS..(I just got the MT15 head..its fantastic!)..but always found the pickups (SE and Core) too bright for me...Not liking coil split/tap at all..I replaced the stock pickups in my first edition Bernie Marsden SE with Irongear pickups...a LOT smoother/warmer and defined. Those Vaughns sound amazing though..are they US only? (Im in England).
Recently acquired a PRS 245 SE. The pickups and my Blues Jr. just didn't get along -- not to my ear, anyway. Returned the SE and bought a D'Angelico Premier DC Mini. All happy.
Ahhh!!!! When I read the title of the video, I was hoping the change would include upgrading the pickup selector switch to a 5-way, like many of the more expensive PRS models. This way you can get a couple of Strat/Tele like sounds including both inner coils and both outer coils in parallel.
85-15’s in mine sound great
The link goes to a blank page. A price point would have been nice, but judging his other pickups they are probably close to half the price of the guitar. A few minutes with the tone controls on the amp and you might have found the sound you were looking for but what fun is that?
Love my SE but like many others the pickups didn’t impress. I replaced them with SD Pearly Gates and absolutely love the guitar now.
Al good to know, I’m replacing mine with a pearly gates and a ‘59 neck and selling it to a friend of mine. Couldn’t let him buy it with the stock pickups lol
I did that to my SE Mikael Akerfeldt signature. Tremendous pickups.
Well, I guess you get a little crunch with the new pickups but both were pretty nice.
What were the output of the stock PRS and the output on the V Skow pickups? There is a lot more clarity and I am guessing that the Skow pickups are lower output to possibly match the Seth Lover pickups.
Just swapped out the Korean Floyd Rose on the SE Custom 24 with the original Schaller-made Floyd I had sitting in a box
A few modifications were required (no routing)
Deeper low end
More sustain
Better string definition
I was thinking about doing the same on mine, Is yours stock apart from the Floyd?
@@CrazedFandango Yes, it's stock. You may be able to get away with just switching out the block. That's where the weakness is IMHO.
There is a replacement called the Stone Tone (I think) that's cut granite, which has a resonant frequency far beyond that zinc block in the Special, and it has more mass. It needs to be grounded at the bridge somewhere, because it won't conduct through the block. If you decide to go with the Schaller-made Floyd, be aware - the Special's block is shallow - I couldn't put the back plate on afterward. A minor concession for me, but it might bother other players.
Does anyone know the model numbers of the replacement set? The web site did not reference a PRS set
Do the new pickups split to the slug or screw coils?
When installing pups, you can choose which coil you want to cut by choosing the correct wires.
So... yes and yes is the answer to your question.
Brian add one of those tiny variable resistors to the ground out of the coil split switch. Dial in how thick you want your split tone by leaving some of the grounded coil slightly alive. To me its the coolest way to " split" coils
Oooh! That’s a good idea!
SMSuperstrat - I have a Strat with a tapped Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound (single coil). Didn’t like the fully tapped sound but now the second tone knob is a variable tap control. Lots of fun.
@@chipsterb4946 Wow that's another cool way of doing it! I'll keep that one in mind for future builds.
SMSuperstrat - I was talking about a high powered single coil with a tap, but there’s no reason you couldn’t do the same thing with a variable split on a humbucker. Lindy Fralin’s “Unbucker” has deliberately mismatched coils specifically for a better split sound.
That’s a nice quilt veneer. Nice to see an SE looking that good. Though, of course, it’s the sound that matters.
I’ve always liked the looks of “zebra” pickups too.
Have you seen the Custom SE 24 Laurel Burl? It's incredible!
Please forgive me if I'm totally wrong, but the humbucker distortion sounds almost identical through my studio monitors.
It's interesting you say that. I have a 2019 SE Custom 24 and it sounds nothing like the stock one at all! It's super bright! I did get it used but barely so, and I'm pretty sure the store would have said if the previous owner put different pups in.
dgmwitz DGM Im picking up a 2019 soon as well and am getting mixed feelings based on the pickups. Did you figure out if yours were stock?
Recent version of 85/15 S are somewhat better with slight different tone balance. So they say.
I have that same guitar, hated the pickups. I put in Seymour Duncan's.
It sounded much better ,but after I changed the nut that guitar really came to life.
I’ll have to try that!
I assume it had the stock 85/15 "s" pups installed?
Which pickups were installed?
Read the description
@@patricksommer3971 doesnt have the exact model - the manufacturer has several humbuckers.
@@emrahalpat the custom PAFs
@@patricksommer3971 Looks like there is a Custom 60 PAF and a Custom 65 in the Vaughn's Custom HSS Strat set. Should I assume that it's the entire 'Custom 60 set and not a set in whole or in part that includes the humbucker from Custom 65 from the HSS set? Or was it a custom set for Brian Wampler? 0:30 just says Custom PAF on the label.
I bought and sold 2 PRS guitars with 85/15 S pickups. The tone knob had to be set at 2-3 to be useable but still the sound was too unbalanced. The low E is so bassy it’s almost inaudible while the G, B and E are super bright, which makes single note melody work difficult. These pups worked well for classic rock chords but didn’t work for me otherwise.
Did you adjust the pickup height?
Mine is the same. The tone knob might as well be an on/off switch, muddy at 0 and maxes out brightness at 2 or 3. To balance the heavy low end I adjust it down at the amp. I wonder about changing the heights of the pickups though.
Great. Now just explain to me how to get my SE to stay in tune. If you even touch the tremolo it falls out. After playing it for about 15 min with intermittent retunes it eventually settles in and will keep tune until the next time I pick it up to play. I've thought about putting a bridge block but still on the fence.
you need to widen your nut slots, your trem tugs and gives on the strings as designed but your nut is not letting the strings return to their original position. Here's a test to confirm: Do your notes fall sharp when tugging up on the trem bar and then go flat when you do bends or dive bombs on your trem? Nut problem.
Get a "Mann Made" bridge from John Mann. Model 2040: www.mannmadeusa.com/products/bridges/vibrato-bridges/2030-modernvibrato-bridge-2/
New nut...have not tuned mine in months
I put 2 Planet Tone PAF's and they sound great in my SE 245.
Just for prs guitars???
I was expecting more. The VS pups are definitely a higher output with a deeper, rounder sound, but I think the biggest issue you're having is your amp tone is weak. It's not a great clean or dirty tone. It's fine. And the VS pickups are definitely better under this amp tone... but... I would like to see more out of both pups under different conditions.
I own that same guitar, and the thing I would change first before the pups is the tuners. Haha I'm also running a Helix with tones that support any pickup type. Hahaha
What is funny, why are you laughing
@@michaelduff2382
To be completely honest... I'm laughing because you can build amazing tones with the Helix that any set of pups will sound good under, and also, I would never use a Marshall. I have owned several and hated all of them. I wouldn't even emulate any Marshall with a Helix, AxeFx, or otherwise. I was laughing at my own bias.
In other words, "This review is poor because this guitar actually sound awesome stock, but it sounds like shit because this Marshall amp blows. The amp is the problem, not the guitar. Hahaha"
@@Noshimonoriku well as much as I disagree with your manners, I kind of agree with you because I own the headrush and my prs SE sounds great through it
@@michaelduff2382
Manners? Wtf? Haha My first comment was very polite and even put the "hahaha"'s in there to show that I was being light hearted and "playful" and tried to make sure my comment wasn't taken as me talking shit to just be a hateful troll. My second comment was considerably more blunt and honest. Hence... "To be completely honest." And yet, I made it clear to not not take my comment too seriously because 1) I admitted to being biased and 2) more hahaha's. As for Internet rhetoric, I am applying a considerable amount playfulness to not being taken seriously while also being honest, and obviously not to be taken too seriously, when I could just say... "This review sucks. This guitar is awesome. You're an idiot that doesn't not how to create tones even though you made an entire series called, "Chasing Tone." Get off the internet you fucking idiot."
But... I didn't say that did I? Hahaha Because, that's fucking douchey and, rude. And to be honest, again, I don't feel that way at all. I've watched a lot of this dude's videos and there's lots of good information, but it's obvious this is just for content. Something to put out. And by the video he put out today, it's obvious that his heart just isn't into videos right now. So... yeah...
Thanks for the half convo about Tone Modeling, and fuck your manners. HAHAHA
@@Noshimonoriku I like you. Good day sir!
When I coil tap my SE custom 24, I turn the volume and tone to about 40 or 50% makes a huge difference. Also my SE sounds great with jazz 12s and tuned down to B or C#. I keep it that way mostly now
Did you make any major bridge adjustments before putting on 12s?
@@kevinr.3542 Yes a complete set up was required. Had to adjust the heights of the saddles and tighten up the trem springs. Also had to file the nut slots. All in all I think it was worth it. I have since restored it to take 10s
@@companionofowls5438 nice, I bet it sounds good. I may want to put thicker strings on mine but I just bought it with a great setup and everything is pretty balanced and perfect, I don't want to screw it up too bad. But I can handle all those things you mentioned.
Have you left your trem alone? I blocked mine after lots of tuning instability issues. Wondered if you experienced any yourself? I couldn't use my bar without throwing it out of tune
@@kevinr.3542 I never had tuning issues, but I also put locking tuners and a graphtec nut on mine. if you want your trem back, try making those modest updrages. Also the PRS spec for it's trem is to set it parallel to the body, so I made sure to follow factory specs. I absolutely LOVE the trem and never ever ever want to block it off. Just my preference
@@companionofowls5438 that really confirms what I was thinking, that I should replace the nut. A lot of people have issues with it binding. Glad to hear you like the tremolo. Overall I love it too I was just having those issues using the bar . I'd love to use it and have it stay perfectly in tune.
stock pick ups were great, the others sounded like cra-
i guess Im kinda off topic but does anyone know of a good website to stream new series online?
@Kristopher Gunnar lately I have been using flixzone. Just search on google for it =)
The playability of the se's is awesome!
My 2016 model sounds nice over a fender superchamp......but swapping those pups is on my bucket list.....but expensive ones like that...its not making much sense to me tbh.
If they would come with Seymour Duncan's.....killer.
What were the original PRS pickups in the guitar (model)?
Prs 85/15 s pickups
Korean made to PRS spec pickups - basically the same manufacturer that makes most of to OEM pickups fitted to mid range guitars.
@@MaddoxMelton Yes, I wondered if that's what they were as I have those on my PS2 and frankly I like their tone and am not inclined to want to replace them. I especially like their coil split sound which is not wimpy and weak like on most humbucking guitars.
So they should be "nearly identical" to the PRS 8515's found on the +$2,000 guitars. Same specs (I agree). And I have some Duncan Design pickups (same kind of thing) that I am also happy with for the same reason.
I know they changed the pickup on the SE, do you know which ones you're SE came with?
likely 85/15 S ?
Interesting video, anyway, the bridge pick-up, after the swap, seemed the previous one with the flu (the nose closed) 🙂 Anyway, the fingerboard pick-up seems warmer in tone. I don't think I'm going to swap mine, even if soldering for me it's not a problem. Thank you for sharing.
WOW! Hey??? You sure were holding that soldering gun really high? Shouldn't you hold it closer to the tip??? :)
I put some bareknuckle Holy divers in my Bernie marsden SE and it went to a different level. Nothing wrong with the 245s...just knew the BKs would be better
Wow! Huge difference! I have the same guitar and I’ve been shopping around for replacement pickups for a few months now trying to decide what to get...🤔
You can't go with friedman or suhr pickups
White Zombie nailed it! I have Suhr Aldrichs in mine and it’s a fcuking monster...
*Can't go wrong
@@ashthegreat1 love my strandberg and my suhr with the stock ssv/ssh /ssh+
And i have only heard good things about the thornbuckers and the aldrichs.
Got friedmans "burstbuckers" for my esp lp model a dream as well, as i said, you can't go wrong with suhr or friedman
Wh!te Zombie Thornbuckers have been on my radar for awhile now...I might actually go with those...thanks! Sometimes ya need a little push!..👍🏻
would a compasitor on the tone control make that much of a difference even if you leave the tone control alone and on ten?
No
Any advice on replacements for the dark Classic 57s I have in my Les Paul?
Wizz pickups
I'd swear you broke into my house and stole my breadboard!
Yeah, that was an improvement.